Trump depicted being hog-tied by a woman in billboard sparks outrage, company says it's about 'taking our country back'
An ad billboard at New York City's Times Square has triggered controversy for showing President Donald Trump being hog-tied by a woman dressed in athletic wear. The 30-foot-high billboard featured a model binding a person, which looks like Trump, with a red, white and blue rope while stomping on his face. The billboard was reportedly put up on Tuesday as part of an advertising campaign by Portland-based clothing company Dvani.
The brand took to Twitter on Monday and posted the same advertisement, writing: "We have big news to share with you." The image showed a woman wearing sports wear, standing over Trump with a foot on his face and holding him tied in a colored rope. The brand also shared another image in the tweet with the hashtag #StandForSomething featured along with its website and social media handle.
According to AdAge, billboard in Times Square featutred "middle school teacher and Marine Corps veteran Michal Mesa" standing over Trump. Another advertisement posted on Twitter by the same clothing company featured five women putting duct tape on Trump's mouth.
Shortly after the images were released, President Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, slammed the media on Friday for not condemning the controversial advertisement on the billboard.
"Since you had time to thoroughly cover a stupid and tasteless meme seen by 8 people with incredible outrage, I figured you should dedicate the same time and outrage to this billboard in Times Square you hypocrites," he said in a tweet. Trump was referring to news coverage of a parody video that was played during a conference at Trump's Miami golf resort, depicting a caricature of Trump killing members of the news media and other critics.
Dhvani's CEO, Avi Brown, while talking to The Associated Press, about the billboard, said that the advertisement was intended to be a comment on the Trump administration's changes to the Title X family planning program, blocking federal funding for health providers who refer patients for abortions.
"We are on the right side of history," Brown said. "The billboard is an expression of our First Amendment right. Its art is a symbol. We would never condone violence. This is about taking our country back."
Brown also commented on the duct tape advert saying: "He unilaterally has created a gag rule that you cannot refer patients with reproductive information about abortion, sex ed, and contraception. He's gagging doctors and nurses, and telling them what they can and cannot tell patients."